In our digital era, the influence of online travel agencies, or popularly OTAs, is significantly increasing. On the one hand, some refer to the problems they experience as part of the strong dependence on OTAs. On the other hand, some others still consider OTAs as the most important sales channel.
We suggest you to take a look at our previous article if you think your property has got to rely way too much on OTAs. If the commissions charged by OTAs vex your mind, you can check other alternatives that we previously referred to in this article.
No matter what you do, though, online travel agencies will keep their position as an indispensible sales channel for you. Therefore, you might opt for enhancing your direct online sales options through the opportunities provided by HotelRunner, while searching for ways to benefit more from the OTAs.
Here are some significant tips for you to make use of when using OTAs:
Do not underestimate the importance of OTAs
Online travel agencies have a key role not only for your property, but also for the entire accommodation industry. Many guests google OTA titles rather than properties when deciding where to stay. Therefore, it would be a big mistake to overlook OTAs and disregard the opportunities they provide.
OTAs as part of your marketing strategy
For sure, OTAs are not the only marketing and sales channels available. First of all, your website should be able to allow for direct online booking. Moreover, you should not forget to use different channels which include social media marketing and online advertising. OTAs are additional tools to prop up your strategy along with these channels. Your sales will increase in accordance with the number of online marketing and sales channels you have, which also adds to the recognition of your property.
Using OTAs properly
Just like your website, OTAs should not be considered as mediums where you put content and never look back again. If you’re still struggling with this habit, which date back to the times when marketing used to be all about printed materials, you had better abandon it as soon as possible. Digital guests of the new era would always expect to see up-to-date content. If you just insert content on OTAs to introduce your property −never checking them again for another time and neglecting use of new images and announcing campaigns −, you will soon lose your popularity on this powerful channel.
As we have mentioned in the beginning, online travel agencies have a significant role in the accommodation industry no matter what you think about them. Moreover, they can become quite effective channels in terms of your brand’s recognition and sales if they are used properly. HotelRunner helps you manage different channels of your property in the most effective way and accept direct online sales on your website. Create your account without using your credit card now and be a witness to what you can do.
